Shadow On Ice (ShadowXAmy)
by TheOneFlamingWaffels
Summary: On a temporary leave from GUN, Shadow is forced to find ways to pass the time, while Amy finds herself trapped between her passions and reality. ShadowXAmy
1. The Drop Off

_**By the way, let's just pretend that Shadow's voice is still the Jason Griffith Version**_

"I don't need time off." the black and red hedgehog muttered, looking from the window of the GUN ship. It was hovering over the heart of Empire City, the dead of night only giving way to the bright and lively metropolis below them. The city light illuminated his deep red eyes as he closed them, hardly listening to Rouge's voice as she dully attempted to persuade him from his set of mind.

"Shadow," She mulled, her hands on her hips as she tilted her head somewhat sassily. "You know orders are orders."

Shadow thought for a moment, rubbing his temples with his smoothly gloved fingers. He let out a sigh to show his agitation, though Rouge paid it no mind. He supposed he had no choice, and even if he kept acting like he did, Rouge would turn him away with some amount of success just as she would every time- that's why they always sent her to tell him pretty much anything that happened to find its way into somewhat of a bad light.

"How long?" he grumbled, his eyes still shut with agitation. "What?" Rouge asked simply.

"How long am I taking off?" Shadow clarified as he turned to her, his spiky quills swaying as he did. He locked eyes with the bat for a moment as she seemed almost hesitant to answer.

"Six months." She mused.

"Six months?" Shadow rasped, clenching his fist. "What am I supposed to do for six months?"

"You've been finding things to do since you were released 16 years ago, Shadow." She mused, remembering the days that she had teamed up with him in a somewhat uneasy alliance alongside Eggman. She remembered how consumed with revenge he had become- much different from the hedgehog standing in front of her now. "You'll figure something out- but we have to get you out of the GUN operations for a while."

"Always whining about how reckless I am. They don't seem to mind when Eggman is threatening to take over the world again, do they?" he muttered, to which Rouge only sighed.

"Come on, Shadow. I'll escort you off the ship." she said, turning and motioning for him to follow. Shadow did, but only after some other moments of contemplation.

* * *

Once the GUN ship had flown away, Shadow found himself left alone in the empty street, of which was littered with cars parked along its edges of varying cleanliness and models. The street lights shone brightly onto his dark fur, and he contemplated what he could possibly do now, left alone in the city. It was quite the sense of confusion that was heaped upon him, though it was far from overwhelming. He found himself strutting along the sidewalk, his eyes drifting from alleyway to alleyway, and his ears alert. He almost felt as if, somehow, this was some kind of test from GUN to measure his resolve. Maybe, in fact, they didn't believe in him. He closed his eyes, and somewhere deep within he almost remembered something that he was told about GUN, about their tests, about humans far into the future, but it seemed like, just like much of his memories, those would be lost, too.

His mind drifted as he stepped silently along the weary, worn down sidewalk. As the small patches of grass danced in the light wind, he tried to recall his past once more. Every day, every week, he would find a new memory. One of Maria, one of their time together. It seemed like it was only a few weeks ago that he last saw her, waving her little hands at him as they gazed to the planet below. She had no idea what the humans were like, or what they would do... but she still loved them- each and every last one of them. She only wanted the best for them, and so Shadow did, too. No matter if he was told that maybe, in the far future, they would kill him from spite just as they had Maria, he would still protect them, so that everyone could be happy.

"For all the people... on that planet." Shadow whispered to himself, opening his eyes and staring to the Ark's shadow in the stars as he reached to the sky like a fool kneeling to a God. "I promise..."

He stood that way for a moment, taking in his promise to her, then holding his head. He remembered the ark, 12 years ago, when he said goodbye to his past. Did he really mean it? Was it really worth throwing away who he was to try and move on? He had changed so much in 62 years, though he knew not if it was for better or worse. Maria, the Professor, they believed in him, and led him to save the world from the black arms, and for some reason, no matter how much he fled from it, he was still bound by their wishes- their wish to save the humans. Even if the professor did go mad before he died.

As he stood, lost in thought, he felt a gust of wind fling past him, and the blue streak of the "fastest thing alive" whirl past him. Shadow crossed his arms as it looped around and came back to him, stopping at his feet as he smiled.

" 'Sup Shadow! Long time, no see, huh?" he smirked, tapping his foot on the ground in front of the black hedgehog.

"Sonic." Shadow replied simply, looking him over. "Didn't expect to run into you here."

"Yeah well, I get around." Sonic mused, pacing in front of him. "You don't, though. Wasn't expecting to see you in big 'ol Empire City."

"I get around as I'm needed." Shadow huffed, walking past him. Sonic only followed, hands behind his head as he whistled.

"And you're needed here?" He asked, his voice not so annoying as usual since his gradual maturity.

"Not quite." Shadow replied simply, stuffing his hands into his inner elbows.

"Sooo what ARE you doin' here, then?" the blue blur spoke.

"Call it vacation." Shadow mused. "Why do you need to know?"

"Well, if you're not busy," Sonic mused, "I could use some help."

Shadow kept walking, thinking for a moment as Sonic went quiet. Normally, he would deny assistance, but seeing as he had nothing better to do, he sighed and shrugged.

"Why not?" the black Hedgehog grumbled. "What could you possibly need?"

"We're throwing a little party. For Amy. Only thing is, I could really go for, you know, NOT gettin' her. She can be a little..."

"I know how she can be, Sonic." Shadow mused. "And I think you exaggerate sometimes."

"Trust me, pal." Sonic chuckled. "I'm not, one bit. She can get preeetty crazy."

The two stopped walking as Shadow looked around and sighed, rubbing his eyelids.

"So- I so happen to land in this city on the night of Amy's party, and you just so happen to run by me and tell me to get her." Shadow said broodingly. He shook his head and looked to Sonic.

"What? Why ya starin' me down, dude?" Sonic inquired.

"Ugh. Don't call me 'dude'. And it just seems a bit... suspicious."

Sonic shook his head. "Look, Shad, can ya get amy and bring her to Tails's Apartment? She knows where it is."

"Tails... living in the City? Why?" Shadow grumbled.

"It's a temporary thing- I'll explain later." Sonic cooed, stepping away. "I've got to go help set up, though. Can you get her or not? She's at the ice skating rink just down the road."

Shadow rolled his eyes, staring at the blue hedgehog, and thinking for a moment. He remembered their rivalry, but it all seemed so far away now that he looked to the hedgehog, both having grown to know and respect each other as the years went on. He supposed he had no prior obligations as before-mentioned, and that he wouldn't mind doing Sonic some small favor of gratitude one more time.

"Fine. I'll see you there." he mused, to which Sonic only nodded somewhat happily, and jetted off, leaving only the wind and a blue streak behind him. Shadow stared at the streak before turning around as it slowly faded away.

"Just down the road, he says." Shadow whispered to himself. "He forgets that a simple jog for him is much more work for the rest of us. Luckily..."

Shadow tapped the ground with his shoes, both clicking on with their air jets, lifting him slightly off the ground as he began to jet down the sidewalk in the opposite direction of Sonic, heading toward the skating rink.

After some time, he found himself at the doors of the skating rink, still dimly lit from the inside. He clicked off his shoes and walked through the doors, hearing the fait skidding of blades on ice. The bell rang, but no one was at the counter.

"Must've let Amy stay late." Shadow thought, stepping lightly to the back of the rink, where the ice was. As he rounded the corner, he saw the pink hedgehog, spinning on the ice like a little toy ballerina. Shadow observed her silently for a moment as her movements slowed and she ducked out of her spin, flying off to the right and attempting to jump, but only flailing through the air and falling on her face, sliding across the ice before hitting the side of the bar lightly. Her groan filled he quiet rink as Shadow stepped to her side of the fall.

"You alright?" Shadow spoke, startling Amy into a scatter across the floor, sliding back and looking up at him.

"S-shadow!" She mused, her (pre-Sonic Generations) voice ringing through the empty hall. "How long were you watching?"

"I just got here." Shadow answered. "Saw you fall, though."

"Oh, be quiet!" Amy pouted for a moment as Shadow leaned over the bar. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"I came to pick you up. Sonic asked me to."

"Sonic? Really?" Amy asked, stumbling to her feet once more. "He wanted you to... no way?"

Shadow nodded, to which Amy squealed with delight. She skated to the side where she stepped off the ice, taking off her skates excitedly.

"So, why exactly are you in here... skating?" Show mused. "New hobby of yours?"

"Hobby? HA!" Amy giggled. "I own this place, Shadow! I actually own a skating rink! Isn't that the coolest?"

"Well, I..." Shadow thought for a moment. "I guess you could say it is... quite... 'cool.' " he said, putting emphasis on the last word.

"Oh, please Shadow. That was a terrible joke." Amy mused playfully, to which Shadow rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"I'm gonna put on a show, you know." She mused to him. "That's what I want to do."

"A skating show?" the black hedgehog inquired.

"Mhm." Amy said, slipping her usual boots on.

"And what's this... 'Show" going to be called?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Amy chimed, standing up and pointing to herself with a wide grin. "Amy on Ice!"

Shadow stared at her for a moment, blinking silently as Amy posed, her dramatic buildup only leading to silence. She stood awkwardly for a moment before shadow cracked a smile and chuckled, shaking his head and walking for the door.

"Hey, what? What's so funny?" Amy yelled at him.

"Come on, we've got to go." Shadow replied, looking to the door as he walked around the corner. Amy scrambled behind him, searching her pockets.

"H-hold on! I need to find my keys so I can lock up!"

* * *

 _ **NEXT TIME ON: SHADOW ON ICE**_

 _ **CHAPTER 2: THE PARTY**_

"What's it like, Shadow?" Amy asked, walking along with her skates in hand. Shadow only looked at her as they continued to walk, Shadow tilting his head at the pink hedgehog.

* * *

"Supriiiise!" The group shouted, stunning Amy and Shadow as they walked through the door, party streamers falling from the roof.

* * *

"Shadow, I need you to have my back on this," Sonic mused to the black hedgehog, putting a hand to his shoulder.

* * *

"Listen, Amy," Sonic mused, looking toward everyone, who gave him a solemn nod.

"You need... to stop."

* * *

 _ **Thanks so much for reading guys. Today marks my 18th birthday and I wanted to do something special. I'll be updating my other fics soon, so keep watching!**_


	2. The Party

Shadow waited for Amy as she locked the doors to the skating rink, her hands fumbling the keys as she adjusted her wrist-rings. Shadow didn't mind waiting, and so as she got herself adjusted and slipped her skates into her hands, tying them together, he leaned against the wall of the rink, debating on whether to keep silent or to speak, but choosing the latter. He stared to the crescent moon that hung so diligently in the sky until Amy stepped ahead of him, chiming happily.

"So, where are we going?" She asked jauntily, her eyes bright against the dark of the night that surrounded them. They confused Shadow, as they seemed so lively, even at this time when most would be tired and worn out.

"Tails's apartment." Shadow replied, looking away from her eyes as to not be caught staring. "Sonic said you'd know the area."

"Oh, yeah! I do!" Amy mused as she stepped ahead of Shadow. She walked alongside the road, motioning for Shadow to follow, which he did without any general objections. They walked on for a wile after, Shadow retaining his silence as Amy pranced around in her stride. AS it looked from Shadow's perspective, Amy didn't quite care where she was- the world was her playground. He supposed there was no fault to that aspect of her, as long as she kept it mostly to herself.

As she danced along the street with Shadow, she glanced over to him expectantly, as if she expected him to say something. She kept that gaze for a while, until Shadow glanced back.

"Huh?" He mumbled simply, raising an eyebrow. Amy smiled.

"I just wanna know what Sonic wanted me for." the girl giggled. "I mean, he almost never actually WANTS to hang out with me. It's kind of frustrating, you know?"

"No, I don't, actually." Shadow said sternly.

"Oh, you'll know." She mused. "One day, when you fall in love, Shadow."

"Haven't managed that yet." Shadow shrugged, looking off into the alleyways and keeping a watch for danger even though there was almost certainly none. "Anyway, you'll see when we get there."

"I'm just wondering-" Amy mused, just as Shadow was saying "How did-"

Both stopped and paused for a moment, going quiet.

"You first." Amy cooed, continuing.

"I was just- How did you come into the ownership of a skating rink? That's not an everyday thing for people like you." the hedgehog mumbled, looking outward at some angle with such a tone in his voice that it made Amy question the nature and direction of his question, though only for a moment.

"Easy. I bought it." She smiled. "Tails helped me, that's why we both moved into Empire City together."

"You live together?" Shadow asked. Amy shook her head.

"I live across the hall. So really, going to Tail's is like going home."

"Well, it's the same building." Shadow mumbled to himself, thinking aloud.

For a few more moments, they walked in silence, before Shadow glanced at her, expectantly. Amy noticed and looked back, head tilted.

"What?"

"You were saying something, too."

"Oh! That's totally right!" Amy mused, adjusting her headband. "I was just asking earlier-"

She went quiet for a moment, and as did Shadow as she collected her thoughts. They passed a bakery in the meantime, its shelves empty, sold out as the late night employees were drinking coffee inside, muttering about the day they had experienced. Shadow found it quite strange to see people just living like that. He had not seen it himself in years, as he was always either at a GUN base or on some assignment in some wilderness.

"What's it like, Shadow?" Amy asked, walking along with her skates in hand. Shadow only looked at her as they continued, tilting his head at the pink hedgehog. "To be away all the time? You're with GUN, right? We don't see you for weeks, sometimes like, months at a time. We've known each other for 16 years, but I kinda feel like you haven't been able to relax with us at all, like maybe we should all try to hang out with you more."

Shadow stared at her for some time after she spoke, thinking.

"You've all spent plenty of time with me, personally." He finally said after a few moments.

"Only when the world is in danger. When it comes down to that, we don't really get to hang out. It's more like... you're just so focused on saving the world."

"Aren't we all, when it comes to it?" Shadow grumbled.

"Well, I guess, but you know what I mean." Amy mused.

Shadow thought for a moment, feeling his gloves as he blinked. He didn't give her an answer at first, and after much internal conflict on exactly what to tell her, Shadow shrugged.

"It's fine by me." the black hedgehog nodded.

"The missions or hanging out?" Amy asked, tilting her head as she stepped to the stairs, and door of a tall apartment building. Shadow only shrugged again, to which the girl nodded. "Both, then." she mused.

After she stepped inside, she went over to the elevator. Shadow took a moment to observe the lobby, which wasn't exactly fancy, but was alright enough. It was painted a nice beige, and it was furnished well enough, dotted with a few decorative plants in pots around furniture, in corners, and beside the empty receptionist desk. His gaze was interrupted as Amy called him.

"Hey, come on!" She called, waving the black and red hedgehog into the elevator, of which he obliged. Without another word, they rode up the smooth ride of the elevator to floor 9, where Amy exited and stepped down the hallway, filled with doors with the names of each resident on it. When she got to two doors that said "Prower" and "Rose", she stepped to the Prower door.

"This is Tails's apartment." She told Shadow, opening the door as Shadow stood next to her. It was pitch black inside the apartment, to Amy's confusion. They stood at the doorway for a time, staring inside.

"Is no one home?" She asked. Shadow shrugged, and so Amy motioned for Shadow to follow as she began to step into the apartment. The lights flashed on as they did, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Espio, Vector, and Charmy all stood inside, a cake between them.

"Surpriiiise!" The group shouted, stunning Amy and Shadow as they walked through the door, party streamers falling from the roof. Amy gasped as she realised what was happening, and she ran inside and immediately hugged Sonic.

"A surprise partyyyy?!" Amy shouted, giggling. Sonic, as always, tried to pry her off.

"H-hey, cut it out! This was Tails's idea!" Sonic shouted, blinking rapidly.

"Awwe, really Tails?" Amy mused, releasing Sonic as he fell to the floor with a yelp. Tails nodded, his fur highlighted finely in the bright lights of the apartment.

"Yup! I figured it'd be wrong to not throw you a birthday party, you know?" the fox mused, rubbing the back of his head. Amy gave him a hug, giggling as she pulled back and nodded.

"You guys know my birthday is tomorrow, though, right?" She asked, looking to the group.

"Actually-" Knuckles mused, turning the clock around, showing it to be 12:37 AM.

"No way!" Amy giggled once more, clapping her hands happily. "That's awesome!"

"Well, what are we WAITING for?" Vector yelled ecstatically. "Let's start serving some cake!"

"Vectoooor! You're being so rude!" Charmy yelled at him.

"Hey- I didn't do anything!" Vector responded. Espio shook his head.

Shadow watched the sight of the friends celebrating, and remembered Sonic's party he attended a few years ago. At that time, he only really spoke to Rouge, but now even she wasn't here. Shadow couldn't deny that he wasn't one for festivities himself, but her understood the importance of such things for the others, his friends. He supposed he found them to be friends, though they almost never met unless it was on business.

Shadow's thoughts were interrupted as Sonic brought him a piece of cake over, dodging balloons and laughing friends.

"Here, Shadow." He mused, bringing over the cake, a chocolate on chocolate pastry, with a fork stuck into its side. It was resting on a tiny plate, and Shadow took the pastry, tilting his head at it.

"Uhm, I think I'll pass." Shadow said simply, setting it down on a small table that help a laptop on its top.

"Come on, Shadow, liven up!" Sonic said, pointing to him. "Knux came all the way from Angel Island just to come and celebrate. You're away from your job, too, so you don't gotta be so tense."

"I'm not tense." Shadow scoffed. Sonic only chuckled, and looked back to Amy, who was chatting it up lively with Tails, Vector, and Knuckles. He stared for a moment, scratching his head.

"Hey, Shadow, can I ask you one more favor?" Sonic asked, looking at Shadow's crimson eyes.

"What is it?"

Sonic motioned for Shadow to follow him into the vacant kitchen, and he did without objection. As they found themselves inside, Sonic sighed.

"We need to tell Amy to settle down here." the blue hedgehog mused. "In the city. She's got ties now, y'know? We all think it's great that she- did you know? She owns a-"

"A skating rink. She told me." Shadow muttered.

"Well then you know, she'd have to you know, stay and take care of it?"

Shadow sighed, turning around.

"So you're all telling her... to stay in the city. Not to go on any more little adventures with you?"

"Exactly." the blue blur said, crossing his arms. "It's the best option for her. She's not cut out for... all this. Eggman, everything that happens."

Shadow rubbed his temples once more, turning to Sonic and glaring at him.

"Shadow, I need you to have my back on this," Sonic mused to the black hedgehog, putting a hand to his shoulder. Shadow shook his head and brushed Sonic's hand off , glaring into the emerald eyes of the hedgehog.

"You can tell her whatever you want. I'm not saying anything." Shadow mumbled.

"Shadow..." Sonic whispered. "It's for the best."

Shadow shook his head, grumbling as he walked off into the living room. He was stopped by Espio.

"Did Sonic tell you?" the ninja spoke.

"He did." Shadow said, crossing his arms.

"And your decision?"

"I'm not going to be a part of some intervention. You can tell her without me chiming in." Shadow mumbled.

"Fair enough." Espio mused. "Just stand back somewhere. We were really hoping to get you to say something, too. She respects you, Shadow."

"Well," Shadow trailed off, stepping to the side and leaning against the wall.

Espio nodded at Sonic, who stepped out of the kitchen. The other patrons were all eating cake and having a good time, laughig and chatting with Amy, and Sonic stepped over to the group.

"Sonic!" Amy cooed. "Want to sit down and chat with us?"

"Sure." Sonic mused, leaning up against the couch.

"So, you're not leaving soon, are you?" Amy asked. Tails answered for her.

"Well, Eggman's been acting suspicious back in the Mystic Ruins. We might head that way soon to check it out."

"Oh! You should let me come with you!" Amy mused, clapping her hands together. At that response, the group looked between themselves, knowing that their message would have to be made clear soon. Shadow listened to the conversation, his eyes closed and his arms crossed as he propped one foot against the wall.

"Amy, don't you have to look after the rink?" Tails asked, to which Amy only giggled.

"I can hire someone to run the place while we're gone!" She mused, looking to everyone. "Wherever sonic goes, I want to go!" After she spoke, though, her hands raised with a pulse of excitement that jittered through her veins, the others went quiet. It was as if she had spoken the name of the devil in a holy house.

"...What?" Amy asked, taken aback somewhat.

"Amy..." Tails sighed, deciding instantaneously to be the first to answer, "We... bought that together. One of us should stay."

Amy shook her head. "Not a chance I'll pass this up!"

"Listen, Amy," Sonic mused, looking toward everyone, who gave him a solemn nod. "You need... to stop, really."

Amy perked up for a moment as she listened, her ears rising, but her heart sinking as she was faced with what she had thought she heard. She grew sad for a moment, but some small glimmer of hope still shined through her that they were just messing around with her. "What are you talking about?" She asked, pulling a hand up to her arm and glancing to each member of the group in a worried fashion.

"Amy, we can't have you doing this anymore." Knuckles chimed in. "The battles keep getting more and more dangerous. Sonic can handle it- WE can handle it, but you'll just..."

"You're not cut out for it anymore!" Vector exclaimed, to which everyone glared at him. He quieted down.

Amy stared for a moment. "You mean... all of you think..."

They all nodded, and Amy curled up on the couch for a moment.

"Tails? You don't think so, do you?" She mused.

"I'm sorry, Amy. We only want the best for you." Tails chimed, looking regretfully to her.

"Sonic?" Amy asked. She was met with a nod.

"Espio?" a nod. "Charmy?" a nod. "..."

She turned to look at Shadow, who was against the wall, eyes closed still. At that moment, she remembered that not once, ever had Shadow spoken to her as if she were some damsel. He understood, she thought, and he would now, too. She jumped off the couch and stepped over to him, clenching her fists.

"Shadow..." She said, her composure beginning to break. "Tell them I can handle it. I've... I've been handling it for.. for years!"

Shadow, at first, stayed completley still, as the entire group stared at him, Amy included. He did not issue an answer.

"Shadow!" Amy yelled, getting him to open his eyes and look at her. She gulped in front of him, eyes watery- those same eyes that had, just mere moments before, been so alive and happy. It pained the hedgehog for some reason he could not initially perceive to see them change. "Tell them..."

Shadow glanced up to the group ahead of him, all looking at him expectantly. He looked for a few moments, thoughts racing through his head as he was suddenly presented with his options. None were to his liking. He simply shook his head at that point, looking down at Amy. He couldn't believe that they were going to get him to tell her those words regardless of his acceptance, just because he knew that in the end, it would be for the better.

"Perhaps... It's best you stay, Amy." Shadow caved in, closing his eyes once more as he strained to keep from turning away. Amy only stood in front of him for a moment or two longer, a few tears finding their way down her cheeks with little more than a silent sob as her one hope had turned her down as well. The tears almost stung her as they crawled down her burning cheeks, but quickly she wiped them and walked for the door, opening it and slamming it shut without so much as a glance back to the group, going to her room across the hall as Shadow remained still. The others all went quiet, but soon began to solemnly clean up the mess they had made with the short lived party. Sonic made his way to Shadow.

"Hey, thanks, buddy." Sonic mused. "I know that sucked... we.. didn't really want to have to say it either."

Shadow grumbled at his word, looking only to Tails when he spoke to him.

"Shadow." Tails mused. "Do you need a place to stay tonight?" The yellow fox asked, giving Shadow an almost hopeful look.

"No." Shadow muttered, still leaning against the wall as the others kept cleaning, all very quiet from upsetting their friend. The black hedgehog watched them for a moment as the others cleaned in the background, and for some reason, it almost made him sick to simply wave off what had just happened as just how it was going to happen. An immediate sense of guilt washed over him as he looked down at the floor.

"I should go." Shadow mumbled, headed past Sonic and Tails and to the door. They waved at him quietly, both feeling terrible about the way things had turned out. Just before Shadow walked out the door, he stopped, and looked back to them.

"This is why you helped her buy the rink, isn't it?" Shadow mused to Tails, who perked up as he was spoken to. "So you could make her stay."

"It's... not entirely like that." Tails mumbled.

"It never is, is it?" Shadow said, opening his door. "There's always too many damn reasons for casting one of us aside."

"You know it isn't like that, Shadow." Sonic mused.

"I do know, I know it's for the best." he replied. "But that doesn't make it any better."

Shadow the Hedgehog stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him with a sigh, leaving the fox and hedgehog staring at the door, saddened by what they had done.

"Oh, boy..." Tails mused, looking away as Sonic glanced to him. The blue hedgehog patted his head, smiling dimly, trying to cheer him up, though it had little effect. Tails simply walked away.

* * *

 **NEXT TIME ON: SHADOW ON ICE**

 **CHAPTER 3: THE REASON WHY**

* * *

Shadow looked into the bakery, seeing a flurry of cakes and doughnuts, and looked to his digital wristwatch to check his balance.

* * *

"I don't understand," Amy mumbled, standing behind the counter and looking at some papers that held the rink's name. "How did this... happen?"

* * *

Sonic looked to a poster just on the light-pole, one that was advertising an Ice skating competition, nationally being held in Empire city

* * *

"Well," Shadow mumbled, strapping on the ice skates, taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."


	3. The Reason Why

Shadow's eyes opened slowly to the morning sunrise. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night, mostly due to the fact that his bed for the night was the cold, smelly city concrete. He was surrounded by the alleyway walls, towering into the sky above him. He looked up to the stone giants that encased him, his tired eyes glancing over the rough bricks and trash filled alleyway. His back was sore, but it was nothing he wasn't used to, and as he sat up the cricks that popped gave him some measure of relief. He stepped out of the alleyway soon after, dusting himself off and keeping his silent composure as he looked down the sparely populated streets. Cars were finally on the roads, however, and the bustle of the morning was beginning to come into an uproar. Soon, Empire City would become a noisy playground for all manner of people, ones that Shadow himself did not want to associate with.

His mind drifted back to the previous night, to the party. He sighed as he looked to the apartment building across from the alleyway, thinking about how Amy must have been taking it all in. They had been blatant to her, and when she left, she had such an aura of melancholy plastered over her that Shadow thought she might tear down the walls of the apartment with the sheer force of her depravity. He hoped that she hadn't gotten upset at him personally, especially since it seemed he would be around for a while longer on his leave from GUN. Perhaps, he thought, he should get her some measure of a gift- some from of apology for his harshness at the party. He wasn't too harsh, per se, but he still felt some form of empathy for the poor girl, and he felt guilty for being part of the reason that what had happened, had happened.

"I should apologize." Shadow whispered to himself, the warm sunlight washing away his aches and pains as he stepped along the sidewalk, populated only by the early morning birds, so to speak. Humans passed, but only every so often, and each looked to the hedgehog with some look of remembrance on their faces. He had been revered once in these western cities for putting an end to the alien crisis, though just like the ample stars that dotted the sky at night, his fame had grown only to burn out and die, disappearing from everyone's memory.

He started to walk, contemplating on how to make up with Amy over the events of the previous night. He found that, perhaps, it would be best to find time to spend with the others, as she had mentioned- and that included her. The concept of spending pointless time with someone was not entirely new to Shadow, but he had found that in the last few years, he only had time for his work. Maybe, he thought, he could make up for it now.

His white and red shoes clicked on the ground as he headed for the place that he knew she would surely be- her skating rink. It would make sense for her to be there to open up. Last night, he hadn't seen any other employees, though he figured that there might have been a few around earlier in the day. On the walk back to the rink, Shadow found himself passing the same shop that Amy and he had passed. The smell of doughnuts and pastries filled his nose, and to be quite frank, it was a smell that he quite enjoyed. Its scent was sweet, and somewhat creamy for lack of a better word. He did not find himself leaning too heavily toward the liking of cake, but this smelled different. Less rich, and more strong.

Shadow looked into the bakery, seeing a flurry of cakes and doughnuts, and looked to his digital wristwatch to check the balance in his account. He scoffed at the number, wondering why GUN even bothered to pay him if it was only going to result in a couple hundred dollars for his own use. It didn't matter, however, as the black hedgehog paced into the shop and walked to the counter, staring at the variety of doughnuts behind the glass. He saw the different flavors- of glazed and of chocolate- of cream and of jelly, and it confused him as to which was which and why. After a few moments of intense staring, the man behind the counter leaned over to look at the gazing hedgehog, his scruffy face shifting a bit oddly as he spoke.

"Chu uh, need some help there, pal?" The man asked, a slight accent attached to his voice. Shadow looked up at him.

"Er- yes." The hedgehog said. "What... are these?"

"What are these?" The man asked, astounded. "Why, these'r doughnuts. 'Aint that plain to see?"

"They smell sweet." Shadow explained. "I was thinking of getting them as a gift for someone, but.."

"But?" The man asked. Shadow looked down at the array of pastries in front of him, each glimmering in the heated lights they were presented in.

"I don't know which would be best. They're... all different."

The man shook his head, obviously confused as to how Shadow didn't know what he was talking about.

"Well, I would be safe and uh... get 'em glazed." he said.

"Blazed?" Shadow muttered. "Why would I burn my friend?"

"No- a glazed doughnut." The man clarified. "Well- Look- how many do you want?"

Shadow thought for a moment, not quite sure of how many doughnuts would fill a stomach or how many one would need to feel satisfied. After some contemplation he finally decided on four and paid for them, picking up the bag and stepping out. It wouldn't be much further from the store until he found the rink again. The sun was a bit higher in the sky now and its light had shone brightly on the concrete. This only gave invitation for the other, more naturally inclined humans to make their way onto the streets. At that time, it began to become a bit crowded, and it gave Shadow a bit of a hard time finding his way through the masses of humans.

"Dammit," he mumbled, trying to push his way though. "I need to get through!"

None of them seemed to care, however, as he was about half their height and just grumbling to himself. It agitated him to no end as he restrained from bolting through the crowd, knocking them all over. Instead, he crouched down and jumped into the air, landing on the roof of the shop far above the now startled crowd. Had he a Chaos Emerald, he could use it to simply teleport out, but they had been scattered once again as the years went on, GUN holding the only one he knew the whereabouts of aside the one that Sonic held. It made things much more annoying for him, as he couldn't control his space the way he wanted. Nonetheless, he saw the rink down the street, and decided to make his way toward it by jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

Shadow dropped to the doors of the establishment as he got close enough, making sure to step into the building before he could be swept out into the crowds. Initially he noticed that there was no bell on the door, more than likely either because Amy had gotten tired of its ringing, or that she didn't have enough customers to bother to put it up. He made his way further, but stopped as he heard Amy speaking.

"No... no..." he heard her say as he looked up at her. She had not heard him enter, and it was apparent that she was distraught from something by the way she was looking at the counter. Shadow stepped closer quietly, making sure that the bag he held made no noise. He inspected her actions further, keeping his normal, almost angry looking glare.

"I don't understand," Amy mumbled, standing behind the counter and looking at some papers that held the rink's name. "How did this... happen? I just... the.."

"What's wrong?" Shadow asked, once again startling Amy into a scramble backwards as she gripped the papers she was looking at firmly in her hands. Her chest raised and lowered a few times before her eyes registered who stood before her, and she looked away for a moment. She placed the papers face down in the cubby behind her, keeping from making eye contact with the black hedgehog.

"Um, hi, Shadow." She mumbled. She kept her gaze toward the counter as the hedgehog walked closer to her, the bag gripped firmly in his hand.

"You look distraught." Shadow said, tilting his head. Amy's response was but a shake of her head.

"You should know about that." She pouted, sitting down on the chair behind the counter. Shadow sighed, closing his eyes.

"Fair enough." he muttered. "Look, Amy-"

"Shadow, whatever you're here for- now's not a good time. I have to... to..." Amy scolded before trailing off, her eyes wide. "No, no, this is actually perfect! I need you to watch the rink while I'm out!"

Shadow flinched a bit, straightening up. He stood there for a moment as Amy looked to him with hopeful eyes, ones that he was sure looked better without the clouding of tears.

"Amy-" he started, "I didn't come to watch I... wanted to apologize."

"You can 'apologize' to me by helping me, Shadow! Please!" The pink hedgehog called, almost begging though her tone suggested that she was at least somewhat keeping it together. It seemed as if she was in no mood to speak of the previous night's events, though that was all shadow was there for. He let out a little sigh, knowing that if he were to make things right, then he should oblige in her request.

"Fine." he said, stepping behind the counter. "What do I do?"

She grabbed the papers, folding them and holding them firmly.

"Just accept money for people who come in, a-and there's a concession stand in the back, but no one runs it. Prices are on the boards. See ya!" the girl said, running out the door at the front of the lobby hastily. Shadow reached toward her and almost called out for her, but quieted down and closed his eyes. He grumbled to himself, shaking his head as he placed the bag of sweets on the counter. How he got himself roped into this was clear, but he wanted it to be over already. He supposed that it didn't matter, though, and that it wouldn't be too bad.

"This is what I'll have to start doing anyway." Shadow supposed. He could stave off hunger for a while and sleep on the ground for a few days, but eventually he would need a bed and food. And thinking of food, he found that his stomach growled lowly with the intensity of having not eaten in two or three days. He shook his head, and looked to the bag, opening it and seeing the four, tasty looking doughnuts. For a moment, he began to reach into it to take one for himself. He stopped, though, and shook his head, closing the bag.

"No, that's for Amy." He shook his head, thinking to the last night.

"I should have eaten cake." Shadow muttered, but immediately remembered what Amy had said about the concession stand in the back. He nodded, thinking that he would simply go behind the counter, pay for some food, and make it. There was a fault in that plan, though- If he went to the back, who would watch the front? Perhaps another employee could help, shadow thought as he looked back from the lobby to the adjacent skating floor. He raised his eyebrows as he saw only a couple kids skating around with their mother; no employees darted across the floors, cleaning or otherwise. There were no employees at all, in fact.

"How does... she works here by herself?" Shadow thought aloud. A beat of sweat dripped on his head as the kids began to come off the stage, the soft cooing of their mother drawing them to her as her long hair bounced with her movements. She got her children ready and began to head for the lobby, presumably to leave. Shadow simply stepped back to the counter, sitting down at the chair as he looked downward, the kids and their mother stepped past, ice skates now off. They did not pay him mind, and walked to the door and into the street. Shadow watched them leave, and thought to himself that perhaps now he could go make some food. Though, he was again presented with the problem of watching the counter.

He shook his head, knowing that he made a promise, but the call of food was tempting and it seemed as if wouldn't be busy any time soon.

"Alright. Quick break won't hurt..." he muttered to himself, stepping back to the rink, and seeing the concession stand across, on the other side. Stepping around the ice, he looked to the cubbies holding the skates that the patrons would use. There weren't many, but probably enough for a few small groups to put on. It was confusing to him why there were so little, and why the place was so empty. Perhaps, he thought, it was because of the shoddy, faded paint, or the location, though some major improvements could be made providing Amy spent just a little more money.

The thoughts dangling around in his head were interrupted as he found himself in the concession stand, turning the lights on and gazing to all the foodstuffs in stock. His face scrunched up as he looked to the block cheese that looked old and half melted, that was to be put on the nachos.

"This... looks disgusting." Shadow muttered, guessing that if the rest of the food was at this quality, he would have to go hungry

* * *

"This looks disgusting..." Sonic said to Tails, at the poorly and messily put together chili dog, assorted with all kinds of toppings that he wanted nothing to do with. "I mean, c'mon- mustard? Why put mustard in chili?"

Tails only shook his head, looking through the newspaper as the two sat in the diner, eating an early lunch. He sat it down, taking a bite of his salad as the quiet conversations of the other customers quietly rang through the building.

"Some people have to like it, Sonic. That's why it was added in in the first place." the fox mused, chuckling. He looked over out the window as Sonic began to rant.

"I mean, Tails, it's called a chili dog, man, not a chili and mustard dog." the blue hedgehog said, tapping his foot under the table. "Whatever. Guess I'll go hungry."

Just as he finished speaking, Amy ran down the street past the diner, papers in hand. Tails saw her and looked questioningly as she passed.

"Uh, why is Amy running?" Tails asked, leaning over to watch her further. Sonic peaked up and watched her go, too, shrugging.

"Dunno." Sonic said, scratching his cheek. "I kinda feel bad. I want to say something but..."

"She might need space." Tails cooed, looking at his salad. "And we need to leave in a few hours, so you might want to go get everything ready."

"Yeah, I can do that." the blue hedgehog muttered. "Comin' with?" Tails nodded in response, asking the passing waitress for a check and a to-go box. Once everything was paid for, the two exited, Tails leading the way as he looked up. The clouds were beginning to darken.

"Looks like it's gonna storm a little earlier than expected." the fox called back to Sonic.

"Ah, you serious?" he replied, to which Tails nodded.

"We have to hurry, then." the engineer called, running for the apartment. Sonic began to follow, but as he did he looked to the light pole beside them, a poster for the National ASCEND Skating Competition, being held in Empire City. He thought that maybe that's why she was running. He knew she wanted to put her own show on, but maybe that would help her.

Sonic smiled, the thought of something going right for Amy giving him at least some sense of happiness.

* * *

"Oh, this is all going wrong!" Amy yelled, looking up to the rapidly darkening sky. "Please don't rain, please don't rain, don't rain!"

The soft clicking of her shoes on the concrete echoed through the alley she had occupied. She was trying to take any shortcut that she could to get to the building that served as her goal. The streets were beginning to get less crowded as the imminent threat of rain caused many to retreat to shelter, and she found it much easier to navigate as she burst around the corner of the trashy alleyway and onto the open sidewalk. She began to huff as she ran a bit faster, though she couldn't keep it up for much longer. Her lungs began to burn as she slowed, holding her knees and crumpling the paper in her hands a bit, looking down to the paper after catching her breath just a bit.

On the paper, a large red stamp that read "LEASE PAYMENT OVERDUE" was plastered onto its front. Amy stared at the paper for a moment longer, gulping.

"I need to talk to her..." She mumbled as a drop of water landed atop the face of the paper. She shook her head and sighed, looking up as the drizzle sprinkled her already sweating face, cooling her skin.

"Great..." Amy mustered, beginning to walk again. "...It's raining."

* * *

Amy stepped up to the door of the building, an almost traditional house in the heart of the city. The drizzle had begun to fall just a bit harder by then, but thankfully the downpour hadn't started yet.

She tapped her foot as she knocked again, this time louder than the last.

"Serena!" Amy yelled, "I need to talk!"

It took a moment, but eventually she heard the rustling of the locks up and down the doors just before it opened, a messy haired brunette standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hello, Amy." She said. "Are you here to pay for the lease?"

"I can't pay for the renewal just yet." Amy said, holding the papers tightly. "I need more time, you can't kick me out!"

Serena sighed at Amy and rolled her eyes.

"Amy, you had a six month lease." She answered. "You're really telling me that in six months, you didn't make enough money to renew again? You're running a skating rink."

"It only opened like three weeks ago! We had to make the rink!" Amy said, sighing. "You know I'll pay you the lease, Serena!"

"Do I?" the woman replied.

"Yes! Look, I can give you some now!" Amy explained, pulling her wallet from the purse she held. She pulled out a wad of money, giving it to her. Serena counted it with some look of skepticism on her face, sighing.

"Amy, this is six hundred dollars." she said. "This is a tenth of the renewal."

"I know, I know!" Amy said. "Can that at least just... buy me some time?"

Serena thought for a moment, looking at the money and back to the pink hedgehog just before shaking her head.

"Fine, Amy." She said, turning her head. Amy's eyes lit up, a huge relief releasing the weight from her chest. "But only for a month. Have my money then, got it?"

"Yes! I will, I will! I promise!" Amy yelled to her, smiling wildly. "I-I'll be back in a month then!"

"Better be." Serena mused somewhat playfully. "But seriously- I'm giving you a chance here Amy."

"I know!" She called. "I won't waste it! I promise!" Amy stepped off the steps, beginning to wave at her. "See you!"

"See ya." the woman called, closing the door. Happy with her second chance, Amy giggled and cheered in the middle of the sidewalk, just before a jolt of lightning lit up the sky, and the drizzle burst into full blown rain.

"Oh, come on!" Amy yelled to the sky, the water making quick work of soaking her. Just as she stood in the rain, her hunger caught up with her, and she blushed a bit.

"I should probably get back.." She thought, still staring up at the sky. "Shadow is... still there."

She thought about Shadow for a moment, and about what exactly she would say to him once she got back. She was conflicted on how to feel about his presence, especially after the events of last night. She understood, though, somewhere inside, that they only did everything they did because they cared about her, and that meant Shadow, too. He even came to personally apologize- something she hadn't expected at all.

"Well, I'll see when I get there." She thought aloud, her stomach growling as she began to run down the street. "Should probably get something to eat first..."

* * *

Shadow sat at the counter, staring at the bag of doughnuts, eyeing it with a strong aura of hunger emitting from him. He found himself reaching for it, but he grabbed his arm and stopped himself.

"No- these are for Rose..." He mumbled. He sat back up, staring at the door, seeing the pouring rain from it and issuing a sigh. "No one's coming in this weather."

He looked to the bag again, his mouth beginning to water. He figured that he would soon need to find a distraction, otherwise he would resort to eating the gift he had bought. He looked over to the open rink through the other door, thinking for a moment.

"Ice skating huh... Can't be much different from my boots." he thought out loud. He rubbed his chin for a moment before nodding. "Guess I'll see what all the fuss is about."

He stepped away from the counter, sure that there would be no customers for him to induct. Without hesitation, he stepped to the cubbies he had seen earlier and looked at the skates. He saw more than a few different sizes, but eventually found his own. He looked skeptically to their new appearance, a bright white and blue. He wondered for a moment if it was really entertaining enough to build a whole building dedicated to it.

He grabbed the skates, slipping off his air shoes, his black socks relishing at a chance to breathe. He hadn't taken them off in weeks- he never had a reason to. Now though, he found himself taking them off for something he found quite trivial. He slipped his feet into his replacements, breathing in.

"Well," Shadow mumbled, strapping on the ice skates, taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

Shadow stood up, almost slipping at first but quickly finding his balance. He stepped on the fine, dull blades until he reached the ice, where he stepped on, beginning to break into a run. The traction was much more slippery and less controlled than his air skates, though, and he found himself falling face first into the ice with a grunt.

"Dammit!" he yelled, slowly pushing himself up. Anger initially coursed through him from the mistake, though he quickly calmed down. "It's okay." he muttered to himself, "I'll just try it again."

Shadow balanced himself on the ice, being sure to judge the traction beforehand as he pushed off, shifting his feet smoothly to a slight angle, one he knew would gain him speed- at least, he thought he knew. The thin blades were much harder to move than he initially thought, as he was used to being practically weightless on a sheet of air. This was not the case anymore, and caused Shadow to fall once more. As he fell, though, he clenched his fist for just a moment before holding out his hand-

* * *

"Hello?" Amy called, opening the door to the vacant lobby, holding a take-out brown bag in her hand. Shadow wasn't there, but that bag he was carrying still was. She walked up to it, a bit of disappointment in her chest that the hedgehog wasn't there. She opened the bag, seeing four glazed doughnuts inside.

"Oh- cool..." She cooed. "They look a bit stale, though..."

Just as she spoke, she heard Shadow's grunt, and she stepped over, investigating. She stepped past the door that led to the rink, seeing the hedgehog on the skating floor.

...

His palm hit the ice, and he immediately pushed off his palm, doing a front flip back onto his skates wobbly.

"Why cant I do this?" Shadow yelled, clenching his fists, and crouching. "I just need to go a little faster... get my speed up."

Amy stepped closer to the short wall of the skating floor, setting her lunch down there as she watched Shadow, tilting her head. She had gathered from his speaking that he was having some measure of difficulty, but she was confused as to why, since he skated all the time. She supposed, though, that it might have been different. She didn't call or interrupt him, though. She wanted to see what he was going to do.

Shadow darted forward on the ice, the blades clacking loudly as he began to forcefully swivel his legs as he skated somewhat slowly at first, slowly gaining the speed he needed along the longways side of the floor.

"Let's, get, MOVING!" he yelled, taking his left foot and slamming it against the ice, throwing himself forward at a rapid pace, faster than Amy had seen anyone go on the floor. He bolted down the side of the floor, and when he got to the curve he placed his feet apart, one hand to the ground as he twisted them, skidding to a stop as he huffed. It was much harder work than stopping his air skates, but he pulled it off, panting and looking down to the ice.

On the other side, Amy saw his speed, her eyes lighting up as she clapped loudly, giggling.

"Heeeeyyy!" She called. "That was super fast!"

Shadow jerked his head up from looking at the ice, seeing Amy on the opposite end, waving at him. He took a deep breath and stood up, feeling comfortable on the skates now. He gulped and skated over to her, though this time more slowly.

As Shadow approached, Amy slid the bag of food over so it did not sit directly between them. The black hedgehog glided his way over easily, stopping himself with his hands against the short wall.

"You're back." He huffed, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. Amy nodded at him, a smile gracing her face as she watched him.

"Uhuh." She mused, a chuckle escaping her lips. "You know, that was pretty impressive. Not too polished but.. you could practice."

"It's challenging." Shadow said simply.

The two stood for a moment, staring at each other, before they both spoke at the same time.

"I got you-" Shadow said, as Amy said "I can show-"

The two both went quiet, blinking, though Amy apparently found it funny, as she giggled.

"You first." She told Shadow.

"Uh... thanks." Shadow said, being gifted the right of first speech twice in a row. "I uh... bought you some doughnuts. From the bakery."

Amy tilted her head, smiling.

"You mean, that bag was for me?" she asked. Shadow nodded.

"I had wanted to give them to you as a sort of peace offering." he explained, "But you ran off. Is everything alright?"

"That?" Amy said with a bit of a chuckle. "I can explain that later, but it's fine for now."

Shadow smiled slightly. "Well, good."

They stood in a bit of silence once more before Shadow looked at her expectantly, and she jumped a bit.

"Oh! Yeah!" Amy yelled. "You should let me show you a thing or two on the ice!"

Shadow thought for a moment- thinking that it wasn't necessarily a bad idea, but his stomach growling interrupted them before they could continue. Shadow held his belly, looking away as Amy laughed at him, covering her mouth.

"You hungry?" She asked jokingly, snickering.

"Quite." Shadow replied simply, looking away. Amy giggled at him for a time longer, before grabbing her bag.

"Well, I got myself some lunch..." She said, looking to him. "But I can split it, if you agree to stay for some skating lessons."

"Really?" Shadow asked, perking up just a little, and looking over to her.

"Sure." She said happily. "I'm in a good 'nuff mood! Come on to the tables!"

Shadow nodded, and stepped off the rink, slipping his skates off and walking with Amy back.

"By the way, speaking of food, Amy, that concession food is absolutely disgusting."

"Yeah, I know."

* * *

NEXT TIME ON: SHADOW ON ICE

CHAPTER 4: THE FIXER-UPER

* * *

"What are you doing?" Amy asked as shadow carried a few cans of paint inside.

* * *

"What is Eggman up to?" Tails asked, the Tornado 3.0 flying high over the ruins. A robotic base hung off its edge, taunting them.

* * *

"I need to make enough money to pay for the lease" Amy said, holding the crumpled papers in her hands

* * *

"ASCEND?" Shadow mumbled, looking at the poster, reading it. "I think..."


	4. The Fixer Upper

Shadow huffed as he skated alongside Amy, who was just as exhausted after their practice session. Outside, the rain still poured, though the two hardly noticed as Amy grabbed Shadow's arm, slowing both of them down.

"You're awesome-" She yelled, breathing heavily, "At.. at the basics... and you're fast!"

"Thought you'd know that... by now." he joked, chuckling.

"Alright!" Amy yelled. "now- do something cool!"

"Like what?" Shadow mused.

"I dunno- spin!" She replied, pushing Shadow lightly from her, which propelled him center stage. He kept his balance, adjusting his feet masterfully without further wobble.

"Right," he said. "Spinning..."

He remembered how he had seen Amy spinning the last night, though she had come out with a bit of a bruise. Regardless, Shadow was sure he could do it. As he picked his blades from the cold, smooth ice, he twisted his body and closed his eyes, one foot's blade arching slightly as to narrow his point of balance as he lifted one leg, bending it as he began spin, quickly but confinedly.

Amy gazed at the hedgehog as his body spun, sending small shards of ice outward in all directions, a sort of haze misting around his feet. She grew excited for a moment, then smiled widely.

"Now jump out of it!" she yelled, holding her hands together somewhat ecstatically. "A-and land smoothly!"

Shadow huffed as he took in her command, jumping into the air a bit, flying forward a foot or two and landing on a single skate. Amy cheered for him, though he wobbled just a bit.

"That was awesome!" She called, skating over. "I've been trying that for weeks and I still can't get the hang of it!"

"Oh? And here I thought YOU were teaching ME." the black hedgehog said, a smile bracing his lips. Amy rolled her eyes, turning and spinning just a bit on the ice.

"I'm teaching myself, too." She replied. "I told you I wanted to put on a show, didn't I?" Shadow only nodded.

"I suppose." he said.

"Either way, that's enough for today." Amy said as she stepped off the ice, taking off her skates as Shadow followed. The two put their skates in the cubbies, walking away from the skating floor.

"Well, I'm glad you came by. It's been fun." She continued, looking back to Shadow.

"Originally, I had assumed that you wouldn't want to speak with me." he told her, waving his hand, "Considering last night."

"Oh, whatever." she giggled. "A girl's gotta brush it off and keep going, right? You weren't trying to hurt my feelings or anything."

"Can I... take the chance to clarify something, Amy?"

"As long as it's not to say 'I DID mean to hurt your feelings, Amy.' "

Shadow chuckled. "No, it's... nothing like that. I just wanted to clarify, about what I said..."

Amy listened to him speak as they headed toward the lobby.

"I DO think you can handle it, and handle yourself. I just thought that, considering the circumstances, you going wouldn't have been a good idea."

Amy looked to him, her eyes still shining their same bright, lively way.

"Yeah but... but GUN never tells you that you can't go on missions, huh?" Amy asked, more inquisitively than anything.

"Actually," Shadow started, sighing and looking to the dully painted walls of the establishment. "They did."

"What? Is that why you're here?"

Shadow only nodded.

"I'm... I never thought they would do that." Amy went on. "When do you have to go back?"

"I'm not able to go on any missions for six months, actually. So I'll be here for quite a while." the black hedgehog muttered.

"Oh, so that's why you stuck around, and came to make up, huh?" she joked, snickering. "And here I thought it was my lovely personality."

"Well, it didn't hurt the notion." he told her as he leaned against the counter inside the lobby.

"Well, thank you, Shadow,"

The two stood there for some time in silence, Amy leaning up against the counter next to him.

"Well, where are you staying?" She asked after a few moments. Shadow did not initially answer, instead scratching the back of his head.

"Not sure of the address." he finally answered, blinking a few times as his spiky quills shook with his movements.

"Well, maybe I could help. What part of the city is it in?"

"Look, I can just check later and tell you." Shadow muttered evasively. "Either way, I should be going."

Shadow rubbed the back of his head. He didn't want to inconvenience Amy by letting her know that he didn't have a place to stay as of the moment, so he figured that he could simply leave and avoid the conversation.

"Aww, really?" Amy said whinily, "Come on, I know you don't have anything to do. You said yourself that GUN doesn't have work for you. And you don't have much of a life outside of that, you know?"

Owch, and damn. She found a way through his excuse, just as she did more than once before in the past. He let out a little sigh, looking to her.

"Either way, I'm sure you have matters to attend to. I can come back tomorrow." he replied, looking through the clear doors. By that time, the rain had stopped, thankfully.

"Well, I guess I can't force you to stay..." Amy mumbled, looking down. "though, it does get kinda lonely here all alone."

"Don't you get customers?" Shadow asked, tilting his head.

"Well, not many, really." Amy chuckled nervously. "We hardly make enough to stay open."

"What? Why?" the black hedgehog grunted. "I thought humans enjoyed this kind of thing..."

"They do, but... no one knows about us." she told him. "Plus we messed up on the paint.. and there aren't enough skates..."

"Is that the problem you left for earlier?"

"No that's... Nothing you need to worry about."

Shadow stared at her for a moment, thinking about the tone she used, and deducting that he'd best not press on the matter. Though, he saw the happiness that the Ice Skating brought her, and how she wanted the place to be filled up with patrons one way or another, either through her shows or just people showing up to skate. He had no reason to help, no benefit for himself, but just like their encounters years in the past, he found himself drawn toward her assistance regardless of how much it hindered him. Once, even to his death. (almost.)

"So, you're saying that if people knew what this place was, and the paint was a bit better, more people would come, then?" he concluded. Amy looked at him, a bit confused, but nodded.

"Well, I guess, yeah." She replied. Shadow stepped away from the counter abruptly afterword, heading for the door.

"H-hey, where are you going?" She yelled out, her hands balled up at her sides.

"I'll see you in the morning, Amy." He told her, to which she huffed.

"Typical..." She muttered, shaking her head as she watched him leave, the door swinging shut behind him with little more than the noise of a gust of wind. Just like that, the rink was once again barren, empty. Amy let out a sigh, checking the time. The clock on the wall showed that it was quickly approaching 9:00, and she didn't think anyone else was coming today.

"Guess I should start cleaning up..."

Outside, Shadow stepped along the sidewalk a ways until he was sure that he was clear of Amy's earshot. He brought his communicator up to his mouth, activating it with a simple voice command.

"Call: Jewlie3356." He said, to which the communicator beeped in immediately.

"Hello?" Rouge's voice called from the other side.

"Rouge. I need you to use a printer up there."

* * *

The next morning was dull. A few customers came into the rink, but for the most part Amy just kept the lights off when no one was there so that she didn't run up the electric bill. She had smoothed up the ice a couple times just from boredom, and by the time it was 11:00 she was getting quite tired of sitting in silence. She needed to find a way to pay off her lease, she knew, but running the rink was first and foremost. She was sitting behind the counter, playing on her somewhat newly acquired smartphone, just as Shadow opened the doors and propped it with a can, stepping back outside. Amy eyed him going, and waited for him to come back.

"What are you doing?" Amy asked as Shadow walked into the lobby holding a few paint cans. They were the same beige as the lobby in the apartment buildings.

"Bringing in paint." He repied simply, his dark fur only barely shining in the morning sunlight.

"Well, I can see that!" Amy yelled as he set the cans down, stepping out from behind the counter and closer to him and the cans. Her heart sunk when she realized what they must have been for. "Oh no, oh no.. Shadow, You didn't buy these, did you?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not that terrible of a hedgehog. Yes, I bought them." he replied, grabbing a couple more and bringing them in.

"Shadow, no!" Amy called, holding her head stressfully as the black hedgehog brought in the rest of the cans, about 5 in total. "Please, don't waste your money!"

"It costed practically nothing." Shadow told her, which was a lie. He had to borrow a few dollars from Rouge jus to pick himself up a burrito for breakfast that morning.

"That's not the point, the point is you REALLY shouldn't have!" Amy told him, looking upsetly at him. "Just go return them, we don't need them here."

"I.. thought you said you needed new paint." he replied, the pink hedgehog turning around and groaning.

"I- Look, Shadow, I can't just take this! I don't even know... I don't..."

"What is it?" Shadow asked, stepping forward to her. Amy went silent for a moment, holding her head as her problems suddenly rushed to the front of her mind. She couldn't take the paint, lest it be wasted on walls she wasn't sure would hold for much longer.

"I don't even know if this place is going to be here in a month!" She caved in. Shadow only stared at her for a few moments, blinking at the hedgehog before her. She wasn't crying, but it seemed as if the mere thought that Shadow had spent his money on the rink made her horridly upset.

"It won't be here? What are you talking about?" he asked, crossing his arms.

* * *

"The storm is clearing up!" Tails yelled, Sonic holding onto the tail controls of the Tornado 3.0. Sonic had his hand above his eyes to block out the sunlight, squinting them.

"How far are we from the Mystic Ruins?" the blue hedgehog asked, not quite able to see past the clouds below them.

"It shouldn't be much further, now." the fox replied, looking to his GPS. "We'll be there in just a few minutes."

Sonic held on after he spoke, sighing as he looked to the sky. He thought back to their numerous adventures regarding this exact plane in these exact areas.

"Remember, Tails, when we flew here?"

"We've flown here a lot, Sonic." Tails replied.

"Nono dude, I mean like, YEARS ago. Fighting Chaos."

Tails thought for a moment before smiling with a bit of a chuckle.

"Yeah, I remember, Sonic. It's been a long time. We've... come a long way, huh?"

"Yeah..." Sonic mumbled. "A lot's changed."

As they thought back, the Mystic Ruins came into view, effectivley making short work of interrupting their recollection. Instantly their thoughts were thrown away as Tails called, "We're here!"

The green forest was half-covered in a sort of mist that enveloped the tallest trees, the Echidna ruins in the center poking out far above the mist's hold. "What is Eggman up to?" Tails asked, the Tornado 3.0 flying high over the ruins. A robotic base hung off its edge, taunting them with its spotlights and blatant destruction of the forest and typical Eggman plottery.

"Why don't we find out?" Sonic said, chuckling as he told him to swing down low. Once he was just above the tree-line, Sonic jumped off the Tornado, slamming down on his feet to the forest floor. Just as his feet touched the ground, he tensed up and boosted though the trails, headed straight for Eggman's base.

"We'll get him before he even has the chance to mess anything up!" he yelled, finding his way to the long bridge that connected the ruins to the base, flying across it at near the speed of sound. Halfway across, though, as if anticipating Sonic's arrival, the bridge suddenly iced over, causing Sonic to slip and fall, skidding across the rest of the bridge with a "yOWCH!"

As he approached the door of the ruins, he heard Robotnik's staple diabolical laughter. The doors opened just as Sonic came to a stop, and the scientist himself stood at the entrance.

"Eggman!" Sonic yelled as he stood up and got his proper footing.

"Ah, ah ah, Sonic." Eggman taunted. "Now, I assure you, whatever you're accusing me of, it's not true."

"I don't have to accuse you of anything!" the blue hedgehog yelled. "You've already done enough by building your base here, you creep!"

Sonic attempted to spin-kick Eggman, but as he did his foot only passed through him.

"What the?!" Sonic yelled, trying to regain his balance.

"You fool." Eggman cackled. "You think I would reveal myself that openly to you? This is but a hologram. Ingenious of me, don't you think?"

"Heh, well alright." Sonic chuckled. "Then I guess tearing down your base will have to do, Eggman!"

He pointed at the hologram, who only shook his head.

"Oh, dear Sonic. You mistake my intentions. I want no conflict."

"Oh, please." Sonic grumbled. "You always want trouble, egg-for-brains."

"I merely want to win." Eggman mused. "I want to receive some form of recognition from the world. Is that so bad?"

"Oh, you're plenty bad." Sonic muttered, to which the hologram laughed.

"I will bring you no quarrel, I promise. And please, I like it here. Try not to break anything."

The door closed, the hologram shutting off before Sonic could question him further. He attempted to run into the door, but couldn't get his feet right on the ice.

"Dang it..." Sonic mumbled to himself. "Eggman... you're definitely up to something. You can't fool me!"

* * *

"I need to make enough money to pay for the lease" Amy said, holding the crumpled papers in her hands as Shadow looked at them. The large red stamp on the front certainly verified, though he had wished that it hadn't been so.

"Great..." He mumbled. "How much do you have to pay?"

"Six thousand." Amy said lowly, looking sadly to the paper. Shadow breathed out heavily, thinking for a moment.

"Surely Sonic and Tails could help, no?" He told her.

"None of us could put together this much money." She whispered to Shadow. "We... spent all of our money the first time. Now, we're just getting by."

"Well, It will be a start." The black hedgehog said, picking up the paint and sliding them into the corner. "But, getting this place in a better condition will help business. More people, more money, right?"

"Well, I mean, I guess Shadow, but..."

"I'll help you." He told her, his fist balled and his voice solemn. "I got Rouge to-"

"Somebody call?" Rouge the bat mused, opening the door with a tied stack of papers in her hands. She smiled at the two, her lipstick far too glossy for the light of the room.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" She joked, looking back and forth between the two, who were both standing realatively close to one another.

"Oh, hush Rouge." Amy muttered, obviously unamused.

"You got the posters?" Shadow asked simply, stepping over to her and holding his hands out.

"What, no 'Hey Rouge, it's nice to see you?'" the bat teased, to which Shadow sighed.

"Just give me the papers." he told her. She held them away from him, into the air as she pushed him away with her pointer finger.

"Nah ah ah, Shadow. I demand an apology for my dear feelings." She said, holding her hand to her breast-plate with a smirk. Amy giggled from across the room, smiling at the two. Despite the stress and distraught, she still found it funny.

"Don't encourage her." Shadow mumbled, looking back to Amy.

"Oh, get a room, you two." Amy joked.

"Not you, too..." Shadow grumbled. Rouge and Amy had a good laugh at him before Rouge gave him the papers. They were laminated, and in full color.

"Here. 300 copies, as asked for."

Shadow looked them over, the front showing a picture of Amy in front of a pair of skates, the rink's name above and the address below.

"Thank you." Shadow told her, stepping back over to Amy to show her. Rouge scoffed.

"And he doesn't even look at me afterword." She muttered, stepping to the two at the counter.

"Here." he told Amy, showing her the posters. "I can post these around the city. Then, people will know."

Amy looked at the posters, through the stack, over their sides, and around the edges, before looking back up to Shadow.

"Shadow I..." she began. "I don't know what to say. Thank you, you... didn't have to.. have to do this."

"I know." he said, crossing his arms.

"One problem, I think you've got competition." Rouge muttered, pulling another poster out and handing it to them.

"Another rink?" Amy asked distraught, "Please tell me there's not another rink."

Shadow looked over the paper. "No." he replied. "It's.. the ASCEND skating competition."

"ASCEND?" Amy muttered. Shadow nodded to her.

"The grand prize is... a hundred thousand dollars." the black hedgehog said, eyes widening.

"Oh, my." Rouge said, almost shivering at the thought of so much money as she looked over the poster.

"So... ASCEND?" Shadow mumbled, looking at the poster, reading it. "I think..."

"I think we could pay the lease like this! When is the competition?" Amy asked, looking for it on the paper, a glimmer of hope in her voice.

"In three weeks." Shadow answered. "You're going to enter?"

"Heck YEAH I am!" She yelled, smiling, to which Shadow smiled a bit.

"One problem, missy." Rouge said with a smirk. "The competition says 'Figure Skating Duo' on it. That means two people per entry."

"Damn." Shadow muttered. That was, until Amy looked over at him and stared.

"Shadow!" Amy yelled ecstatically after a few moments, causing him to flinch. "Enter with me!"

"Wait, what?"

* * *

 **NEXT TIME ON: SHADOW ON ICE!**

 **CHAPTER 5: THE TIME WE LOST**

* * *

"Where could Eggman possibly be?" Tails asked Sonic as they sat in the Westopolis ice cream shop.

"You know him, he could be anywhere."

* * *

"You've got some paint on you." Amy told the black hedgehog as the beige dripped to his shoulder. He grunted and tried to flick it away, to no avail.

* * *

"We've got to practice harder!" Shadow shouted, spinning and lifting his leg before his skates came to a stop. "It all rests on this-"

* * *

"You really need a way for me to contact you." The pink hedgehog said exasperatedly. "Like, a cell phone, or something."

* * *

 **Thank you everyone who has read this far. I appreciate your support greatly and I hope you are enjoying the story as much as I enjoy writing it. Give me some feedback. Do you like the chapter previews? Is there anything you'd like to see the two go through before entering in ASCEND skating competition? What do you think Eggman is up to?**

 **Thank you guys again, so much. I'll see you next time!**


	5. The Time We've Lost

The plane ride to Westopolis was long, but peaceful. The sun shone and glimmered off the Tornado during the long, quiet ride, but Sonic, uncharacteristically, was silent the whole way, the thoughts about Eggman's possible plans racing through his mind like a car on a racetrack. Tails noticed his silence, around the end of the flight, but didn't ask him about it until the plane had touched the ground in the plains that surrounded Westopolis, the midway point to Empire City.

"You still have the Chaos Emerald, right?" Tails asked him. Sonic looked back and nodded, much to his relief. Sonic looked away again as they both hopped off the Tornado, landing in the soft, green grass next to the shining city that had laid in ashes nearly 12 years ago.

"I'm just confused." Sonic said, his arms crossed and his brow tilted with a serious look. "Eggman said that he didn't mean us any harm. Well, what does that mean? I know he's up to something, but it's probably something really, really bad, and he's just... masking it as something good!"

Tails nodded at Sonic, putting a hand to his shoulder.

"That's absolutely right, Sonic. That's why we gotta stop him. For now, though, let's just get some lunch. I'm starving."

Sonic sighed, looking over at Tails with a smile that seemed to show some significance in his remark, that it perhaps gave him some sense of ease that Tails agreed with him.

"Chyeah. And whatever Egg-head has planned, I can stop it, just like always!" Sonic said, patting Tails's head, who chuckled and motioned for Sonic to follow him into the city.

The streets of Westopolis were clean and new. The city had only just finished reconstruction after all those years, and a speedy one at that. People had begun to see it as a symbol of progress, that humans could, in fact, bounce back from anything. Well, almost anything, Sonic thought, provided they had a little help from the planet's guardians, Sonic and his friends.

Sonic stopped at a stand that was selling hot dogs, a chunky young man at the counter who claimed that his "Fine ingredients" would make the "Best Chili Dog on the whole planet."

The blue hedgehog highly doubted that, but bought one for himself and another for Tails before stepping along the surprisingly uncrowded sidewalks sand taking a bite.

"Huh, not too bad." Sonic mused, his doubt being proved wrong as an explosion of flavor braced his tounge. "Maybe we should stop in this city more often..."

"If we stopped at every place that sold good food, it would be a long trip back to Empire City." Tails said as he took a bite of his morsel. By the time he had chewed and swallowed, Sonic had already scarfed the entirety of his down, giving Tails a case of the "How the heck did he do that"s.

"Well, that was pretty good." Sonic chimed, patting his stomach with a smirk. "Whadaya say we get some desert, eh?"

"Sonic, I haven't even finished mine yet." the yellow fox replied, Sonic only snickering and walking toward a nearby ice cream shop he had spotted amidst the peppered stores on the city streets. Inside was sparsely populated, only the tired woman behind the counter sulking from being worked on a Saturday standing around the front of the shop. Along the windows, a few patrons quietly enjoyed their delicacies. He ordered himself a vanilla cone with sprinkles, Tails still finishing his lunch.

"Where could Eggman possibly be?" Tails asked Sonic as they sat in the Westopolis ice cream shop, finishing their foodstuffs. Sonic took a moment to swallow a small mouthful he had gotten of ice cream before answering.

"You know him, he could be anywhere." the hedgehog answered, quickly taking small licks out of the swirl. Tails thought for a moment, issuing a short "hmm" as he did and running through his mind all the possibilities. He looked himself over, then to the slightly scratched up Sonic.

"Maybe he went to Empire City. Then, maybe leaving Amy wouldn't have been a good idea."

"Shadow's there. He wouldn't let anything happen to her." the hedgehog clarified, eating his treat with fervor.

"Would he?" Tails muttered. "I mean, Shadow certainly isn't a bad guy, but does he care enough to stick around and watch over Amy?"

Sonic chuckled, taking another sample. "Well, I think he'd go out of-" He stopped, holding his head and grunting in pain.

"S-sonic? Are you alright?" Tails asked worriedly, sitting up and reaching for him.

"Brain...freeze..." Sonic managed to say, wincing in pain. Tails stared at him for a moment after his words, a smile slowly creeping its way onto his lips before he burst into laughter, his quirky voice filling the shop as Sonic grunted.

"Not... Funny."

* * *

"You want me to... What?" Shadow grunted, looking at the pink hedgehog before she put her hands together.

"Please, Shadow!" she pleaded, shaking her hands at him. The black hedgehog stood in front of her, arms crossed as he turned his head away from her.

"I don't think that would be a good idea." He muttered broodingly. Amy looked a bit saddened by his answer as she stepped closer to him.

"Shadow..." She whispered, her eyes glittering.

"What? Got stage fright, Shaddy?" Rouge mused, swaying her hips as she stepped past him. "Don't worry, hon. It's alright if you don't wanna embarrass yourself-"

"That's not it." Shadow grumbled to the two. "You can just find a much better partner than me."

"Come on, Shadow," Amy mumbled. "You know I can't."

Shadow's quills swayed just a bit as he turned his head to her, his burning crimson eyes softening against the dull grey of the room.

"I find myself becoming frustrated," Shadow began. "...When I can't do something well. This- I can't do well."

"Then.." Amy thought aloud, looking about before stepping over to Shadow and grabbing his hand from both sides, holding it between them as she looked into his eyes. "then I'll teach you. We can learn together." She finished, giving him a nod. Shadow stared back into hers for a moment, the two orbs shining beautifully between the shoddy environment, and for a moment, he froze, and his better judgement was replaced by a quick in-the-moment decision.

"I..." He muttered, blinking a few times before lifting his other hand to scratch his cheek as he looked away. "Suppose I should. It would be the right thing to do." Amy slowly smiled after his answer, bouncing in place cutely with a bit of a laugh, her dress bouncing just as gleefully with her.

"Awesome! Thank you so, SO much, Shadow!"

Rouge smiled at the two as she stepped backward, and to the door. She waved at them after giving them a moment to bask.

"Well then, I guess I'll head back to the base." She said aloud after a moment, causing the two hedgehogs to look at her." Shadow, I would ask you for an escort, but you're off duty. Besides, I suppose you'll be busy."

"Suppose I will." Shadow echoed, looking to Amy as she let go of his hand to wave at the bat.

"Bye, Rouge!" She yelled cheerfully. Rouge giggled.

"See ya." She cooed as she walked out of the doors. Shadow and Amy were left alone in the lobby after her removal, staring at each other for a brief moment before Amy spoke up.

"Right then." She chimed. "then, we're partners!"

"I... suppose so." Shadow said, looking at her for another moment. He scratched the back of his head as Amy thought for a moment before her face lit up with the look of a fresh idea.

"We need a schedule, now that we're working with each other!" She said jauntily, walking over to the counter, pulling some blank papers and a pen out.

"Schedule?" Shadow muttered somewhat passively annoyed, the hedgehog writing a few times down on the paper. "And- working together...?"

"Yeah, here." she said, handing the paper to him as she tilted her head. "You'll have to get here at 8 o'clock sharp in the morning so we can start practice!"

Shadow looked at the paper, reading it over. It seemed simple enough, and he supposed that he didn't have any reason not to follow the schedule, so he gave no objection.

"Right." He said, putting it in his pocket. Amy clapped her hands together as he did with a little giggle, just before tilting her head again, stopping.

"Oh, wait- that doesn't interfere with your job- does it?" She asked. "Do you have one?"

"Well, no, I don't." he replied.

"Ah- well, how about, since you'll be here every day, and... well, you could help me run the rink!"

Amy stepped back a bit as she asked, still beaming quite vividly at the black hedgehog before her, her fidgeting feet tapping against the clean tile floors.

"Working... at the rink?" Shadow mumbled, tilting his head. "But- don't you need money? Hiring me won't-"

"I'll really need help if this place starts to get busier, though." Amy cooed, "So, like, it's you, or someone else that I won't know."

Shadow thought about it for a moment before rubbing his temples, trying to measure the benefits of working there. It would allow for an easy excuse to get close enough to the rink to practice skating and a way to make money for food.

"Uhm... Alright." He agreed. "I could live with that."

Shadow looked around the lobby, and more specifically, the walls. Amy noticed him and let out a little sigh, though not one of frustration, moreover one of the fault of worn-ignorance.

"Well, guess we should get started." Shadow told her.

"Painting the walls?" Amy asked, Shadow only giving a nod.

* * *

Shadow picked up the rolling paint brush, wet with paint as he began to apply it to the wall, Amy Rose doing the same next to him. The difference betwixt them, Amy wore a protective covering to stop the paint from getting on her clothes.

"So, you're sure that you want me to be your partner." Shadow half asked as he rolled the paintbrush up and down the rink walls, the fresh beige color glimmering as it plastered itself onto its target. Outside, the store read closed, even though it was still working hours.

"Well, yeah." Amy told him. "You're really good, even if you don't believe it."

"Well then, If I'm 'really good' then you're at least good yourself." the black hedgehog reasoned, a splatter of paint dripping down to the wax paper they had placed under their feet to protect the floor.

"Missed a spot." Amy mused to him, using her brush to paint over his mistake. Shadow scoffed at her.

"I saw it." Shadow grumbled.

"Surrrre." she joked, giving off a little giggle. She stepped off to the side a bit, getting more of the new paint over the walls. "Hey, Shadow?"

"Mhm." he answered, stretching to get a higher place than usual, glancing to his pink counterpart.

"Thanks. For the paint." she chimed, looking over to him. "I really appreciate-"

Amy paused for a moment, staring at Shadow, who was holding his brush awkwardly. He looked back to her as the pink hedgehog stared and laughed at him.

"What?" Shadow asked, blinking. "What is it?"

"You've got some paint on you." Amy told the black hedgehog as the beige dripped to his shoulder. He grunted and tried to flick it away, to no avail. The paint only stuck to his fingers, to which he groaned, making amy laugh even harder as she stepped off the wax paper, grabbing a paper towel and bringing it over.

"It's not that funny." Shadow mumbled, a slight tint of red bracing his cheeks.

"It's totally funny." she giggled. She gave the item to him, of which he made good use of, wiping off what paint he could manage.

"You might need to shower to get all of it out." Amy said as she got another apron and plastic wrap glove set, bringing it over and handing it to him. "Here. So you don't get any more on you."

Shadow nodded calmly, slipping the accessories on, stretching just after he did.

"Alright, I've got this wall. Why don't we split up and try to get it all?" he asked, looking back to her.

"Right! That sounds like a plan!" She shouted, excitedly picking up her paint can and rolling brush, waving at him as she stepped to the opposite wall to begin her work. Shadow watched her go, and sighed as he thought about the amount of time it would take to paint the whole rink. Though, it was alright, they had all day and it was only noon.

* * *

Midnight approached the clock in the office as Shadow placed the last finishing touches on the new coat of paint on the walls. Amy was well into burning the midnight oil as she yawned, the fumes of new paint dully filling the air. Shadow stepped back from the walls, looking to all of them as he himself began to feel the wear of the lateness. He looked back to Amy, crossing his arms.

"I guess we're done, then." He mused. "You should probably go home and get some rest."

"Absolutely not!" She said, stepping up to him and shaking the tired from her eyes. "Just an energy drink, then we need to get in at least an hour of practice before we leave!"

"You're obviously tired, Rose." He told her, to which she only shook her head.

"Oh, please. Just think of it as... making up for lost time." She told him, cupping her cheeks. "Come onnnnn."

"Making up for... lost time?" He muttered, looking confusedly at her.

"Yeah. Like I said... we've known each other for 16 years, and we've probably spent like a week total with each other, so I think we should at least make up for that!"

Shadow stared at her for a moment. From her posture and determination in her voice, he knew that she was certainly serious.

"Well," he muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Alright."

"Sweet! I'll run to the convenience store down the road, just stay here!" she yelled, stripping off her apron and gloves and stepping into the lobby, running out the doors. Shadow only shook his head at the girl, picking up her protective gear and bringing it to the trash can, along with his own. He took a moment after disposing of them to look around the room once more. The paint before was shoddy, and poorly applied, but this added a good measure of quality and smoothness to the walls that he was sure would please the patrons that made their ways into the establishment.

"Making up for lost time..?" Shadow repeated, looking off a bit. "I've heard that, somewhere."

He thought back, but only the faintest traces of a memory of his time on the ARK flashed before his eyes. He thought heavily on her words, as for a while, he had not fully realized that anyone would have considered a missed opportunity to spend time with him as "Lost." It was quite the new look on it all, or perhaps one that he had known once before, but forgotten it in his struggles.

He supposed all he could do then was wait for Amy, but he could at least get ready to practice first. He stepped quietly over to the cubbies, his footsteps echoing through the empty room. He took off his skates as he stepped over, grabbing the same pair as the ones he used the previous night. This took enough time for Amy to make her way back, two energy drinks in hand. She walked them over to the black hedgehog as he put on his skates.

"Awesome! You're already ready!" She said, giving him one of the drinks. He nodded in appreciation as he looked at it, though in his mind he had wished it was some article of food. Amy opened her own drink, downing a good portion of it immediately and putting it down walking over to her skates in a much-less-so-tired-than-before fashion. She found her own shoes and began to slip them on, sitting next to him.

"You ready?" She asked him. Shadow nodded and stood up, stepping over to the ice slowly, his blades clacking against the tiles.

"Let's do it."

* * *

An hour passed easily on the ice as Shadow showed Amy a few tips on speed and balance, and likewise Amy taught Shadow a few things on technique and grace.

"Alright..." Amy huffed, swiping the sweat from her brow as Shadow followed suit, both standing on the scratchy ice floor.

"I think you've... got that down." He huffed, breathing heavily.

"Alright," Amy said, taking a moment to pant. "Now, I wanna try to spin and land, like you did yesterday."

"Right. Show me what you've got." Shadow mused, leaning against the short wall. Amy nodded, and seemed eager with a chance to impress.

"Alright! Here I go!"

Amy began to skate forward, and placed her hands behind her back as she took a deep breath in. She skated alongside the wall, closing her eyes as she kept a central point of balance.

"Alright." She whispered. "You can do this, you can do this."

About halfway along the wall, she slanted her ankles so that she would swerve left and into the middle of the floor, where she began to circle around, slowly getting more confined before she was spinning on one skate in the middle, taking a breath before she began to throw herself forward. Once in the air, she began to spin wildly, unable to stop herself.

"W-whoa!" She yelled, Shadow thinking quickly and skating over to her, but not in time. She hit the ice on her skates, though, sliding backwards a ways before balancing herself out. Shadow blinked a bit before he realized what had just happened, though the gravity of it seemed to effect Amy a bit more.

"Ohmigosh!" She yelled. "Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!"

"You... heh, did it." Shadow muttered with a bit of a smirk, crossing his arms as he slid next to her.

"I know! I've been trying that for months! That's so amazing!"

She clacked her skates against the ice as she giggled with excitement, clearly satisfied.

"What did you think, Shadow?" She asked, looking to him. He looked away for a moment, skating forward to the middle of the rink.

"It was actually quite refined. Though, remember that this competition is the buffer between having the rink, and losing it, and for that reason..."

He began to spin around in place, quicker and quicker, thinking to what Amy told him about being graceful on the ice.

"We've got to practice harder!" Shadow shouted, spinning and lifting his leg before his skates came to a stop. "It all rests on this-"

Amy nodded, obviously pumped for the competition.

"Yes sir!" She said, saluting somewhat jokingly, though at the same time, pretty serious sounding. The black hedgehog saw her enthusiasm and couldn't help but smile, skating over to her.

"For now, though, it really is getting late." he mused. "We can practice tomorrow, I promise."

Amy huffed at him, looking around at the rink.

"I'll close up for you, too. Just give me the spare key." he told her. She only sighed.

"Fine, I guess you're right. I'm gonna crash as soon as this stupid drink wears off, anyway." She muttered, stepping off the ice and taking off her shoes. Shadow followed suit with her, putting on his regular shoes as he looked to her.

"I'll call you when- actually, you don't have a phone, do you?" Amy said. Shadow thought for a moment before shaking his head. "Well, you really need a way for me to contact you." The pink hedgehog continued exasperatedly. "Like, a cell phone, or something."

"I have a communicator, but it only operates through secret government channels." Shadow mumbled. He thought for a moment before they both got up and he walked her to the door.

"No money for that, now." He told her. "We've got to pay your lease."

"Yeah, I know." Amy said with a little stretch. "See you in the morning? 8 sharp?"

"Yeah, you will." Shadow said simply. Amy nodded at him, adding "The spare key is inside the office, in the desk drawer."

She stepped out of the rink, the dark night enveloping her as soon as she stepped out of the light, though the street lights would light her way. Shadow stepped back, picking up the broom from behind the counter and beginning to sweep the floors, sighing as he looked to the newly painted walls, his eventful day ending quiet and dull.

"Hmph. Maybe I should have just walked her home." He thought aloud, though he knew not why he craved the sound of her voice and the activity they shared. Perhaps, he thought, this was the feeling that he missed for so long. The feeling of having a friend. She was his friend, yes? Maybe not, but he found her much more bearable than most others he met, and that was a friend in his book.

* * *

"I sure wish that other dude had his stand open..." Sonic thought aloud to Tails as they walked back to the Tornado. The streets were still somewhat alive, as it seemed that Westopolis was indeed a busy city.

"We're heading to Empire City, then?" Tails asked. Sonic nodded, but just as they did so, a news buletin came onto a screen inside of the store. What caught Sonic's eye was the picture on screen, a photo of Dr. Eggman with the caption "Dr. Robotnik spotted near Empire City."

"Citizens are advised not to stray outside of the city, as Eggman is likely on business not related to it. However, GUN has posted..."

"See that, Tails?" Sonic yelled, clenching his fist.

"Yeah! Let's go!"

* * *

It didn't take Shadow long to close up, though it did take him a while to find the office. When he finally entered, it was a small, nicely painted room with a soft carpet floor, only a computer desk, a chair, and a broken coffee machine. He scoffed when he walked in, getting the key and walking back out, walking to the door to lock it. He stepped outside, but quickly thought that he should revise his plan. He would have to find an alleyway or corner to sleep in tonight, but if he simply slept in the office, he could sleep on a slightly softer place, and finally indoors.

He decided that's how he would play the night out, and stepped back inside, locking the doors from that point instead. He threw the key up into the air and caught it a few times before he found himself back into the room, closing the door behind him and putting the key up. He patted the carpet for a few moments before sighing and laying down on it. His hunch was right, it certainly was more comfortable.

He thought for a moment on what Amy had said earlier, about spending time together. It was something she had mentioned once before, but Shadow hadn't thought much about it. Until now, it had seemed that he had not put much thought into much of anything on the matter. As of now, he was still quite confused on how to feel about it all, though he supposed that the prospect of spending time together was one that he saw to be somewhat important, because it was important to her as well. And maybe, it was important to some others as well.

"Well then... Amy Rose..." Shadow mumbled, his eyes closing as he got comfy behind the desk. "I promise... to make up for the time we've lost."

* * *

 **NEXT TIME ON: SHADOW ON ICE**

 **CHAPTER 6: THE COOL KIDS**

* * *

"These posters have really helped..." Amy mused, looking at the patrons of the rink.

"Attracted some bad apples, though." Shadow grumbled.

* * *

"Eggman!" Sonic yelled, standing atop the tall building, wind blowing his hair as he pointed to him. "Drop the act!"

* * *

"This doesn't just stop when they leave the rink." Amy said, looking to the teens in front of them.

* * *

Outside, a single speck of white touched the ground, sticking to a small patch of grass sprouting from the cracked sidewalk. It was followed by another, and another, and yet another.

* * *

 **Thanks everyone for your continued patience and following of the story. I appreciate all feedback, good or bad, so please tell me what you think.**


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